Lee Jae-yong and Oh Sang-wook Watch Gold Medal Match in Person... Visiting Olympic Site for the First Time in 12 Years

Accelerating Global Management at the Paris Olympics

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited the Olympic site for the first time in 12 years, embarking on a global management tour.

According to Samsung Electronics on the 28th, Chairman Lee departed for France from Incheon Airport on the 24th and is currently attending business meetings and other schedules in Paris.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong watched the men's sabre fencing match at the 2024 Paris Olympics held at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, on the 27th (local time).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 27th (local time), he watched the men's sabre individual fencing final from the stands at the Grand Palais in Paris alongside Kim Jae-yeol, a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), among others. A moment was captured of Chairman Lee cheering for Oh Sang-wook, who won the first gold medal for the Korean team.

This is the first time in 12 years that Chairman Lee has attended the Olympics since the 2012 London Olympics, when he appeared with the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee, former Leeum Museum Director Hong Ra-hee, and Hotel Shilla President Lee Boo-jin, among family members. At that time, they drew attention by visiting the Olympic swimming venue to support swimmer Park Tae-hwan.

This time, former Director Hong, Samsung C&T Corporation Strategy Planning President Lee Seo-hyun, and IOC member Kim Jae-yeol were also spotted sitting at the opening ceremony venue set up at Paris's Trocad?ro Square on the 26th.

During the Paris Olympics, Chairman Lee plans to hold relay meetings with global leaders in the semiconductor, IT, and automotive industries, including former ASML CEO Peter Wennink, to discuss important business issues and cooperation plans.

On the 25th, he attended a luncheon for global business leaders at the ?lys?e Palace in Paris, invited by French President Emmanuel Macron, where he met with various economic figures. About 40 people attended the luncheon, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks, and LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault. On the same day, Chairman Lee, along with former Director Hong, also attended the 'Paris Olympic Opening Eve Dinner' co-hosted by IOC President Thomas Bach and President Macron. The dinner, held at the Louvre Museum, was attended by over 100 IOC members and numerous world leaders, including King Felipe VI of Spain, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, King Frederik X of Denmark, and Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Samsung is the only Korean company among the 15 TOP (The Olympic Partner) sponsors, the highest tier of IOC sponsors. Samsung Electronics signed a TOP contract with the IOC in 1997 and has been an official sponsor in the wireless communications category since the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.